Looking for an amp to drive Eidolons Vision.

Really good advice from Rushton on the "used-to-new" updates of the MA-2's. Now that sounds like a great value.

I heard the MA-1's vs. the JL-2 late last year driving Sound-Lab U1s and both products were outstanding. For me however, I prefered the CAT because of its phenomenol dynamic contrasts. If you are considering the JL-2 which I believe is around $12k new, but your budget goes higher, I understand there is a non-signature JL-3 model that is in the low $20k range. Brian, Audiogon member is EssentialAudio, in the Chicago area has a lot of experience with these two amplifier lines. I suggest you contact him if either of these amps is on your list.

John

Hi Jafox, just a comment on the dynamic contrasts of the two Atma-Sphere amps: the MA-2 has far greater dynamic capabilities than the MA-1. There is very little comparison unless you add the power supply boost upgrade to the MA-1 (which adds a significantly greater amount of capacitor reserve to the power supply). I know your comparison was between the MA-1 and the JL-2, just didn't want anyone to draw an inference you'd not intended. Cheers.
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Hello Elberoth2,

I have heard many amps on the Eidolon over the years. Both tubed and solid-state. People say that they love power but I have found that IMO quality is more important than quantity. These speakers will give back to you exactly what you put into them.

My preference is for high quality tubes because I feel that it tells me more about an instruments sound, the tone, the timbre of texture, and the harmonics that make it unique from another instrument. Not to mention the space (venue) that the instruments were recorded in.

Of the tube amps I've heard personally on the Eidolon (I have since moved on to the Eidolon Diamond) either in my system or others, I prefer and picked the BAT 150se mono block amps. Other tube amps you may wish to consider are the Atmasphere amps that Rush (hi Rush) mentioned or the CAT amps you are already considering.

IMHO the BAT 150se has the best combination of virtues that both solid-state and tubes can bring to a system. They are a just a fantastic company to deal with and should be around for many years to come. In the 10 yrs they been in business they have become extremely successful and for good reason. They know what they are doing!

If you care to discuss this further please feel free to e-mail me privately. By the way, the speakers take a long time to break in. 500 hrs+ at loud volumes to really start showing their stuff.

All the best to you in your search,
Tom

JL-2 or JL-3's.

Thank you Rushton for the clarification indeed. When I write about experiences of one product vs. another, I try to be specific about the model numbers but sometimes I do slip up. This time I did not, but it would be easy for someone to conclude my observations were true for all CAT amps vs. all Atma-Sphere amps.